MagicCube
MagicCube provides a patented software-based Trusted Execution Environment (sTEE) and Software Defined Trust (SDT) platform that delivers hardware-grade security for mobile payments, IoT, and digital identity — selling API-driven softPOS (i-Accept) and tokenization products to acquirers, merchants, OEMs, and governments globally.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersSanta Clara, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What MagicCube does
MagicCube Inc. is a Santa Clara-based private cybersecurity and payments company founded in 2014 by Sam Shawki (CEO, ex-Visa Global Remote Payments head) and Nancy Zayed (CTO, ex-Apple, ex-Cisco). The company has built and patented the Software Defined Trust (SDT) platform, whose core primitive is the sTEE (Software Trusted Execution Environment) — a software-based emulation of a hardware secure element that delivers hardware-grade protection without physical chips. The architecture combines an in-app "Cube" SDK with a proprietary HSM-based miniCloud backend for compliance, key management, and over-the-air updates.
MagicCube monetizes its platform through software licensing and subscription/managed-service fees across four revenue streams: i-Accept Cloud platform licensing (API-based softPOS), i-Accept SDK and SoftPOS software licensing, managed miniCloud backend services, and professional/integration services. Pricing is quote-based with multi-year contracts; the company markets a 74.8% software savings versus hardware cost (e.g., $20M savings on 1M devices at $250 each over 3 years). Customers are primarily acquirers, payment service providers, retailers (SMB through big-box), card issuers and mobile wallet providers, OEMs, and government/defense/sovereign-state buyers.
The company sells through a hybrid model: direct enterprise field sales to acquiring banks and big-box retailers, a global channel partner network (NTT Data, ID Tech, Dojo, Handpoint, Cow Hills, YellowPepper, ACI Worldwide), exclusive North American OEM partnerships (Mobiwire, oona), and SDK/API self-service integration. MagicCube's first and only software TEE recognized by EMVCo (May 2019), its PCI-DSS Level 1 SP certification, and pre-certification by Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover constitute the central regulatory moat. The company has raised approximately $25.7M+ in disclosed funding through six rounds from a mix of strategic (Visa, Verifone, NTT Data, Sony Innovation Fund, e& capital) and financial investors (Mosaik Partners, Bold Capital, Epic Ventures, ID Tech, CVentures).
MagicCube firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- MagicCube
- Legal name
- MagicCube Inc.
- Website
- https://magiccube.co
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- MagicCube provides a patented software-based Trusted Execution Environment (sTEE) and Software Defined Trust (SDT) platform that delivers hardware-grade security for mobile payments, IoT, and digital identity — selling API-driven softPOS (i-Accept) and tokenization products to acquirers, merchants, OEMs, and governments globally.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
MagicCube industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Payment Security Software
- NAICS
- Security Systems Services (56162)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Key Management, Encryption & Secrets Management (KMS/HSM/Vault) (HDABAHAG)
Keywords
Where MagicCube is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Santa Clara
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
MagicCube business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- i-Accept Cloud Platform Licensing: API-based software platform with pre-certified secure elements, ready-to-integrate components, and secure card-reading kernels. Commercial, scalable, secure, and compliant support for global large-scale deployments. Customers deploy new solutions to the market in days instead of months.
- i-Accept SDK and SoftPOS Software Licensing: SDK and embedded softPOS software licensed to acquirers, payment service providers, and integrators. Calculator on website shows 74.8% software savings vs hardware cost (e.g., $20M savings on 1M devices over 3 years). Personalised commercial model provided on contact.
- Professional Services & Integration Support: Engineering and Product teams provide implementation plans and support during initial integration, deployment, and scaling. Setup Support is one of the four key kit components alongside the Cube, miniCloud, and Assessment Kit.
- Managed miniCloud Service: HSM-based on-premise or cloud-based backend service providing compliance, remote management, security, and connection to risk systems for deployed Cubes. Operates as a managed/recurring backend.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Quote-based commercial model; calculator shows 74.8% software savings over hardware |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels10 records
MagicCube product offering
Product offeringCore offering
MagicCube sells the Software Defined Trust (SDT) platform — a patented software-based Trusted Execution Environment (sTEE/vTEE) that delivers hardware-grade security for mobile and IoT devices without physical secure elements. Its commercial product family includes i-Accept (SoftPOS/Tap-to-Phone contactless payment acceptance), i-Accept Cloud (API-driven cloud payment acceptance), MC Token Shield (PCI-DSS Level 1 tokenization), MC Screen Shield (PIN-on-Glass), and the miniCloud HSM-based backend, sold to acquirers, PSPs, retailers, IoT manufacturers, and government/defense customers.
Product overview
MagicCube sells a unified security platform branded Software Defined Trust (SDT), built on its proprietary sTEE / vTEE (Software / virtual Trusted Execution Environment) which simulates hardware-grade secure-element protections purely in software. On top of this foundation the company ships a modular product family: MC Token Shield secures mobile payment tokens and cardholder data (PCI-DSS Level 1 SP certified), MC Screen Shield provides secure PIN-on-Glass entry on consumer devices, i-Accept is the flagship Tap to Phone / SoftPOS product that turns any commercial device into a payment terminal accepting Visa, MasterCard, Amex, Discover, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, and i-Accept Cloud exposes the same acceptance capability as an API-driven, cloud-native platform (composed of The Cube SDK for in-app integration and the miniCloud keystore/backend for key management) that connects merchants to acquirers, processors and PSPs without legacy terminal hardware.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- i-Accept: MagicCube's software-based Tap to Phone / softPOS payment acceptance product that turns any consumer mobile device into a payment terminal without additional hardware.
- i-Accept Cloud
- MC Token Shield
Products and services
- Software Defined Trust (SDT) Platform
- sTEE / vTEE (Software Trusted Execution Environment)
- i-Accept (SoftPOS / Tap-to-Phone)
- i-Accept Cloud
- MC Token Shield
- MC Screen Shield (PIN-on-Glass)
- miniCloud
Quantifiable outcome
- 74.8% savings on software over hardware cost
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use MagicCube
Customer profileNamed customers11 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
MagicCube technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration9 records
Feature8 records
MagicCube partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
16 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- VerifoneflagshipVerifone, a leading global payment solution provider, joined MagicCube's $10M funding round as a strategic investor and partnered with MagicCube to enhance secure digital commerce solutions. The $10M round's first close included Verifone as a strategic investor alongside Bold Capital, Mosaik Partners, and ID Tech.
- ACI WorldwideflagshipMagicCube partnered with ACI Worldwide (April 2023) to make its i-Accept softPOS platform available to small and mid-size merchants, less than a year after MagicCube offered the platform to big-box merchants.
- Mobiwire / MobiIoTflagshipMobiwire Group, a global ODM player designing mobile phones and IoT terminals, partnered with MagicCube (NRF 2023, Jan 2023) on an exclusive North American SoftPOS/Tap-to-Pay basis, leveraging Mobiwire's NFC devices with front-top NFC placement. Combined solution accepts contactless payments from any major card brand and supports PIN-on-Glass.
- oona (Aava Mobile Oy)flagshipoona, a brand of Aava Mobile Oy and global provider of professional-grade enterprise tablets, partnered with MagicCube (Jan 2023) on an exclusive North American basis to integrate i-Accept Tap-to-Phone contactless payment solution on oona's enterprise-grade Android tablets with front-facing NFC antenna.
- ID TechcoreID Tech is both a financial investor (participated in 2021 $15M round and 2026 $10M round) and a strategic technology partner. ID Tech and MagicCube formed a global partnership (June 2018) to bring hardware-free and PIN-on-Glass products to market, combining MagicCube's sTEE with ID Tech's POS peripherals.
- DojocoreMagicCube and Dojo offer contactless mobile PIN payments for U.K. and Irish merchants (May 2021). Dojo integrates i-Accept to convert Android devices into mobile POS terminals.
- HandpointcoreHandpoint, a pioneer in integrated payments and next-generation POS, partnered with MagicCube (March 2021) to deliver TAP+PIN on phones as part of its Integrated Payments Suite.
- Visa Inc.flagshipVisa is both a strategic investor and a deep technology partner. MagicCube announced a strategic investment from Visa in 2020 as part of a large funding round. Visa issued a security compliance allowance for i-Accept (Dec 2020). i-Accept is certified by Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover. Visa previously invested in 2015.
- American Express, Discover, MastercardflagshipMagicCube's i-Accept is supported and certified by American Express, Discover, Mastercard, and Visa as a model for retailers to adapt to contactless environments. Elizabeth Karl (VP payments consulting, Amex) and Mary Kay Bowman (global head of buyer/seller solutions, Visa) have publicly endorsed the platform.
- Cow Hills BVminorMagicCube and Cow Hills BV partnered (June 2019) to enable progressive retailers to accept payments without dedicated terminals using sTEE platform.
- NTT DataflagshipNTT Data is both a financial investor and a strategic partner. The partnership (announced June 3, 2019) will offer MagicCube's PIN-on-Glass technology to merchants in Japan and accelerate PCI certification for joint customers. Formed to secure next-generation payments, acceptance, and PCI certification for joint customers.
- YellowPeppercoreLatin American mobile payment provider YellowPepper partnered with MagicCube (July 2017) to bring a complete software solution protecting token-based mobile and connected devices to Latin America and the Caribbean. The partnership enables storage and protection of high-value credentials without hardware dependence.
- SequentcoreMagicCube and Sequent struck a partnership (Feb 2017) to secure mobile and other connected devices. Sequent integrates sTEE to deliver "the scale of a software-based security solution while rivaling the protection of legacy hardware-based security technologies."
- Shift4coreShift4 is listed among MagicCube's investors on the oona press release and About page. Shift4 is a major payment processing company.
- BrightsightminorBrightsight, a security evaluation lab, issued the first ever EMVCo SBMP security evaluation certificate to MagicCube in May 2019.
- PCI Security Standards CouncilcoreMagicCube is the first startup appointed to the PCI Security Standards Council Board of Advisors (2021-2022). CTO/co-founder Nancy Zayed sits on the board. MagicCube also joined the PCI Security Standards Council (Oct 2017).
Scale indicators12 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights7 records
MagicCube competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Stripe Terminal: Stripe Terminal offers integrated in-person payment acceptance (hardware + software) for platforms and merchants. Stripe has launched Tap to Pay on Phone capabilities that compete directly with MagicCube's i-Accept for platforms that want to embed payment acceptance in their own applications.
- PayPal (Zettle): PayPal's Zettle division competes directly with MagicCube in SoftPOS / Tap to Phone for SMB merchants. PayPal combines a much larger payments network and balance sheet with Zettle's hardware/software offering, while MagicCube supplies the certified SoftPOS layer to acquirers and PSPs that compete with PayPal.
- Adyen: Adyen is a global payments platform that processes card transactions for large merchants and has launched its own Tap to Pay / mobile acceptance solution. Adyen competes with MagicCube's i-Accept Cloud at the acquiring platform level, offering merchants a fully integrated acceptance stack.
- Ingenico (Worldline): Ingenico, now part of Worldline, is one of the largest payment terminal manufacturers globally and a MagicCube competitor in SoftPOS / Tap to Phone solutions. Like Verifone, it has deep acquirer relationships and is expanding from hardware into software-defined acceptance, overlapping with MagicCube's i-Accept target market.
- Verifone: Verifone is both a strategic investor in MagicCube and the dominant global payment terminal OEM. Verifone has been actively expanding into software/SoftPOS offerings, making it simultaneously a distribution partner and a direct competitor for SoftPOS software layers serving acquirers and merchants.
- Block (Square): Block's Square division is one of the largest SoftPOS and mobile payment acceptance platforms globally. While Block targets SMBs directly with hardware and software bundles, MagicCube competes as the underlying software stack serving acquirers and PSPs that want a hardware-free Tap to Phone product.
Emerging players
- Trustonic: Trustonic is a TEE / device-security vendor providing hardware-based Trusted Execution Environments for mobile payments, automotive, and IoT. While Trustonic's technology is hardware-anchored (TEE OS in secure elements) and MagicCube's is software-defined, both target similar developer ecosystems for in-app payment and digital key protection.
Others
- Zimperium: Zimperium provides mobile threat defense and runtime application self-protection (RASP) for mobile apps. While MagicCube's sTEE protects sensitive payment logic and credentials inside apps, Zimperium focuses on detecting device-level threats—making them adjacent rather than directly competing technologies.
- Lookout: Lookout is a mobile security platform focused on threat detection, mobile endpoint protection, and zero-trust security for enterprises. While MagicCube and Lookout both target securing mobile and IoT endpoints, MagicCube's specialization in payment acceptance and credential protection differs from Lookout's general mobile security posture.
Direct peers
- SumUp: SumUp is a direct SoftPOS competitor offering mobile payment acceptance on consumer smartphones across Europe and globally. Both MagicCube's i-Accept and SumUp's product pursue the same end-merchant opportunity of replacing dedicated payment terminals with software running on COTS devices.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
MagicCube social profiles
Digital presenceMagicCube compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
MagicCube financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
MagicCube leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
MagicCube funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds6 records
Investors15 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
MagicCube M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about MagicCube
What does MagicCube do?
MagicCube sells the Software Defined Trust (SDT) platform — a patented software-based Trusted Execution Environment (sTEE/vTEE) that delivers hardware-grade security for mobile and IoT devices without physical secure elements. Its commercial product family includes i-Accept (SoftPOS/Tap-to-Phone contactless payment acceptance), i-Accept Cloud (API-driven cloud payment acceptance), MC Token Shield (PCI-DSS Level 1 tokenization), MC Screen Shield (PIN-on-Glass), and the miniCloud HSM-based backend, sold to acquirers, PSPs, retailers, IoT manufacturers, and government/defense customers.
Is MagicCube a public or private company?
MagicCube is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was MagicCube founded?
MagicCube was founded in 2014. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is MagicCube based?
MagicCube is headquartered in Santa Clara, United States, in the North America region.
How does MagicCube make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. i-Accept Cloud Platform Licensing is the primary driver. The others are i-Accept SDK and SoftPOS Software Licensing, professional Services & Integration Support and managed miniCloud Service.
Who are MagicCube's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Stripe Terminal, PayPal (Zettle), Adyen, Ingenico (Worldline), Verifone and Block (Square). Trustonic is listed as an emerging player. Others are Zimperium and Lookout. SumUp is listed as a direct peer.
Does MagicCube have an API?
Yes. i-Accept Cloud is an API-driven, RESTful software platform offering a single API integration that lets merchants and app developers connect to major card networks (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover), local debit/credit schemes, mobile wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay), acquiring banks, processors, PSPs, and integrators without legacy terminal hardware. Built on a micro-services architecture with ready-to-integrate components including The Cube SDK and miniCloud backend management.
What industry is MagicCube in?
MagicCube's product category is Payment Security Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDABAHAG, Key Management, Encryption & Secrets Management (KMS/HSM/Vault). Its NAICS code is 56162 and its SIC code is 7372.